System and method for providing wireless device access to e-mail applications

ABSTRACT

A system and method for enabling users to send and receive messages and other information from mobile devices and enabling users to access server-based information using mobile devices over wireless data networks are disclosed. The system and method provide wireless device access where users may have access to an electronic mail application from the user&#39;s mobile device, such as a mobile phone, interactive pager, PDA or other wireless device, via a wireless service provider. The e-mail application may enable users to view messages in various presentation views. Sorting functions and access to address books may be available. Other functionality may include compose, fax, forward, reply, keep private and other functions.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation of prior application Ser. No.09/885,634, filed Jun. 20, 2001, which is a Continuation-in-Part ofprior application Ser. No. 09/750,320, filed Dec. 29, 2000. Thisapplication is also a Continuation-in-Part of prior application Ser. No.09/750,301, filed Dec. 29, 2000. The entire disclosure of the priorapplications is considered as being part of the disclosure of theaccompanying application and is hereby incorporated by referencetherein.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the field of wireless deviceaccess and, in particular, to a system and method for enabling users tosend and receive messages through an e-mail application from mobiledevices and enabling users to access server-based information usingmobile devices over wireless data networks.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Generally, mobile devices provide various communication capabilities tousers. Currently, users may access the Internet through personal mobiledevices. For example, users may read local and world news headlinesand/or short summaries on a mobile device, such as a Personal DigitalAssistant (“PDA”), mobile phone, pager, etc. Users may also receivealerts and predetermined triggers, such as stock movement and otherevents. However, the amount and type of information received may belimited due to hardware and physical limitations of a mobile device. Forexample, information received on a mobile device may not be easilyviewable due to the limited screen space of a mobile device.

While mobile devices may access information through the Internet, accessto a corporate or other network may be limited. Also, informationtransferred from a server on a network to a mobile device may requireconversion to a form viewable on a mobile device. This process mayrequire restructuring and re-writing applications and othermodifications. Oftentimes, users may need to access critical data andother information stored on the user's personal computer located on acorporate (or other) network. However, such information may not beeasily accessed through a mobile device due to conversion and displaylimitations. Thus, information retrieval may be limited to mobile users.

Mobile devices and wireless networks rely on a broad spectrum oftechnology. In comparison to personal or desktop computers, each classof mobile device may currently represent a unique hardware and softwareplatform. For example, mobile phones and PDAs may have varyingcapabilities and limitations as computing devices and client devicesaccessing corporate and other networks. The wireless networks thatsupport mobile devices may be similarly diverse.

In addition, users may find viewing, storing, sending, and maneuveringthrough information displayed on a mobile device to be difficult andlimiting. This may be due to the lack of customization available onmobile devices.

These and other drawbacks exist with current systems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Additional advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in thedescription which follows, and in part will be obvious from thedescription, or may be learned by practice of the invention. Theadvantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of theinstrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in theappended claims.

The present invention provides interactive access to various databasesand directories from web-enabled mobile devices, such as mobile phones,pagers, and PDAs. The present invention enables users (e.g., users ofLotus Notes™) to remotely interact with messaging infrastructure using avariety of mobile devices over wireless data networks. The presentinvention offers broad sets of features that extend the reach ofservices to small, wireless devices, such as mobile phones, pagers, PDAswith wireless modems. Users may send and receive messages, alerts,pages, notifications and other forms of information to mobile devicesfrom the user's desktop. Wireless access features of the presentinvention enable users to remotely access servers over wireless datanetworks and interact with databases and public directories using mobiledevices equipped with micro-browsers.

The present invention provides a system and method for providingwireless device access where users may have direct access to electronicmail, calendar, public directories and other information from the user'smobile device, such as a data-capable mobile phone, interactive pager orother wireless device, via a wireless service provider.

For example, an end user may view a personal mail inbox or search formessages by date, sender, subject or other criteria. The user may readmail messages, forward messages to other recipients or fax hard copiesof the messages to one or more fax machines. The user may also compose aunread mail memo, delete unwanted messages from the mail database andsave drafts of memos and other information.

An end user may also perform various scheduling operations. For example,the user may view daily schedules and send selected one or moreschedules to one or more fax machines or other recipients. Users mayalso create new calendar entries, including appointments, events,reminders and other entries.

A public directory may also be accessible to a user through a wirelessdevice, such as a mobile phone, PDA, pager or other device. Otherdirectories maintained through the server may also be accessed. Forexample, a personal or private directory created by the user andmaintained on the server may be accessed. A user may search the public(or other) directory by last or first name (or other criteria) and viewthe individual person records on the mobile device. Once the appropriateperson is located and displayed, the user may automatically create anelectronic mail (e-mail) message or initiate an outgoing call.

Multiple types of forms may be used by the present invention for variousapplications. Different types of forms may include facsimile,memorandum, invitation, user profile and other applications. Forms foreach application may include predetermined form fields that are specificto each application. Forms may be created, modified and forwarded (orsent) to one or more selected recipients. Other operations may also beperformed.

Application navigation may occur through views and folders where theuser may open a selected document from a list of views and folders.

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate various embodiments of theinvention and, together with the description, serve to explain theprinciples of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a functional overview of an overall system,according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a wireless servlet, according to an embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of a mobile application development tool, accordingto an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of modules for a mobile device access system,according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of functions available on an electronic mail module,according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an example of a screen shot of a mail menu for a mobiledevice, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an example of a screen shot of an action menu for a mobiledevice, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an example of a screen shot for a new memo for a mobiledevice, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram of functions available on a calendar module,according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a process for formatting a document in anappropriate format for a device, according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a method for formatting a document in anappropriate format for a mobile device according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Mobile services of the present invention enable desktop and web browsers(e.g., users of Lotus Notes™) to communicate directly with one- andtwo-way wireless devices worldwide. The present invention allows foreasy administration for multiple wireless services, while giving eachuser the ability to control when and what may be received on the user'smobile devices. Users may get direct access to e-mail, calendar, publicdirectories and other information from their data-capable mobile phone,interactive pager or other wireless device, via a wireless serviceprovider. Wireless device access enables users to have instant access tocritical information wherever the user may happen to be, via a widerange of communication devices and wireless networks.

Users may also customize the information that is received and sent frommobile devices. For example, the user may select to receive e-mails (orother correspondences) from a particular individual or group ofindividuals. The user may also select to receive a particular type oftypes of e-mails (or other correspondences), such as the ones marked ashigh priority or otherwise designated as being important. Othervariations may also be implemented. In addition, the user may customizeresponses, replies and other outgoing information from the user's mobiledevice. For example, a user may select from a list of possiblecustomized replies, which may include “will discuss later”, “will calllater” and other replies. Customized replies may be predetermined forvarying types of actions. For example, for a stock broker, possiblereplies may include “buy”, “sell”, “hold”, etc.

Various messaging services may be available through the presentinvention. For example, mobile services may convert e-mail messages inorder to transmit the mail messages to mobile devices over a variety ofdata messaging networks including paging services, mobile phonenetworks, wireless data networks, and other networks. Users may composemail messages using a mail template (or form) and address them to mobiledevice recipients using an e-mail alias (e.g., “John Smith Mobile”).Users may compose messages with standard mail memo and address messagesto e-mail and mobile device recipients. E-mail messages may be routednormally and messages intended for pagers or other wireless devices maybe routed through a foreign domain.

The outbound message may be converted into an appropriate format for thedevice and data network and may be forwarded via modem or InternetProtocol (“IP”) connection to the service provider. The wireless servicemay then transmit the message to the appropriate mobile device.According to an embodiment of the present invention, a sender of themessage may add acceptable replies at the end of an outgoing message toreceive an immediate answer from the mobile device user. These repliesmay be sent to the mobile device along with the message. Mobile servicesmay then poll the wireless service provider periodically looking for theresponse from the message recipient. Once received, the response may bedeposited in the originator's e-mail inbox.

A wireless access server of the present invention allows mobile users touse a variety of devices to access information in servers via wirelessIP service providers. A wireless access server may act as a proxy forhandling communications between the server and mobile devices, such asmobile phones, PDAs, two-way pagers equipped with text-basedmicro-browsers and other devices. Text-based browsers may use WirelessMarkup Language (“WML”), Handheld Device Markup Language (“HDML”), orother language to send requests and receive data via wireless IP datanetwork to HDML servers which reside at the wireless service provider'soperations center. The HDML server may forward the requests to a server(e.g., a Mobile Service for Domino (“MSD”) server offered by LotusDevelopment Corporation) via frame relay or Secure Sockets Layer (“SSL”)Internet connection. A wireless access server may interpret the request,act as a proxy between the mobile device and the server, and pull therequested information from one or more databases. The information may beformatted by the wireless access server and sent back to the mobiledevice.

An end user may use a wireless device to navigate a series of menus torequest information from the server. The wireless access server mayallow access to an end user's mail account, calendar, public directoryand other information.

For example, an end user may view a personal mail inbox or search formessages by date, sender, subject or other criteria. The user may readmail messages, forward messages to other recipients or fax hard copiesof the messages to one or more fax machines. Other operations may alsobe performed. The user may also compose a unread mail memo, deleteunwanted messages from the mail database and save drafts of memos andother information.

An end user may also perform various scheduling operations. For example,the user may view daily schedules and send selected one or moreschedules to one or more fax machines or other recipients. Thus, if amobile user's administrative assistant or colleague creates a newappointment or edits an existing appointment, the user may be notifiedof the changes immediately. Users may also create new calendar entries,including appointments, events, reminders and other entries.

A public directory may also be accessible to a user through a wirelessdevice, such as a mobile phone, PDA, pager or other device. Otherdirectories maintained through the server may also be accessed. Forexample, a personal or private directory created by the user andmaintained on the server may be accessed. A user may search the public(or other) directory by last or first name (or other criteria) and viewthe individual person records on the mobile device. Once the appropriateperson is located and displayed, the user may automatically create ane-mail message or initiate an outgoing call.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, users who areexternal to an entity's messaging infrastructure may access the mobileservices of the present invention. An entity may include a business,corporation or other group of individuals. A web site may be createdwhich enables users from outside the entity to compose messages andreceive responses from mobile device users. A customer or businesspartner may point their browser to the web site, compose a message, andselect one or more recipients from a list of mobile device users in theentity, e.g., corporation. The list of registered device users may becontrolled (or maintained) by a system administrator or other authorizedentity. For example, individuals that may be accessible by customers,prospects and partners may be listed on the web site.

Mobile services may provide a set of enhanced application interfaceextensions, enabling developers (or other authorized entities) toconfigure custom mobile applications for use on handheld, wireless andmobile devices. For example, to enhance an organization's responsivenessto customers, users may enable an existing customer care solution todistribute messages (or other information) to a remote customer servicerepresentative via pager, mobile phone or other mobile device, uponreceipt of a predetermined trigger, such as a trouble ticket or otheralert. The representative may then send a reply to the customer's e-mailaddress instantly from the mobile device.

The present invention further enables IT managers, systemsadministrators and other authorized entities with enhanced securityfeatures that may include the ability to restrict the devices andwireless services that are allowed to access information and/or data.

Incompatibility issues may exist when enabling e-mail functions andaccess to information from various databases on a server via a mobiledevice. For example, mobile devices may not have certain capabilitiesand viewing options available on a desktop computer connected to anetwork. Physical and technological impediments may exist. For example,the screen of a mobile device, such as mobile phone, may not be able tosupport a large amount of text due to the mobile phone's compact sizethereby limiting the amount of information viewable at once. Also,certain texts, images and other attachments may not be easily viewableor accessed by a mobile device, due to limiting screen size and othercapabilities. Also, as mobile devices may be used to access informationfrom anywhere in the world, various time/date incompatibilities mayexist as well.

The present invention may create and customize style sheets that may beapplied to data sent to and from a mobile device. The present inventionprovides a method and system for converting data sent to and from amobile device in a format that may be understandable to a mobile deviceand viewable on a mobile device.

FIG. 1 illustrates a diagram of a functional overview of an overallsystem for providing wireless device access, according to an embodimentof the present invention. One or more clients 110 may access a server120 through a desktop terminal. In addition, one or more remote webclients 112 may access server 120 through Internet 114 or othercommunication means. Server 120 may comprise various modules, databasesand other functions, such as tool 122 and servlet 124. In addition, oneor more databases 128 ₁-128 _(N) may store information related toelectronic mail, directories, calendar, scheduling applications, and/orother applications. Other components, functions and databases may alsobe provided. A wireless access server 126 may be connected to a MobileServer Provider 116, which may also communicate through Internet 114.Mobile Server Provider 116 provides communication with one or moremobile devices 130, such as a pager, a mobile phone, a PDA and otherwireless devices. This system enables a wireless device to access andinteract with information stored and maintained on Server 120. Thepresent invention further provides that the information transmitted toand from mobile device 130 will be in a format acceptable for displayand access on a mobile device.

The wireless implementation of the present invention may include amobile application development tool 122 and a wireless servlet 124 whichruns on Server 120. Other components, tools and applications may alsorun on Server 120. Tool 122 may serve to allow the design of a mobileversion of applications to run (or execute) successfully on variouswireless devices. Servlet 124 may provide wireless device usersreal-time access to various databases and other information maintainedon Server 120. Thus, the present invention provides an infrastructurethat allows devices using other markup languages to be supported usingthe same or similar architecture.

FIG. 2 illustrates a diagram of various subsystems of a wirelessservlet, according to an embodiment of the present invention. WirelessServlet 124 may include various subsystems, such as servlet subsystem210, request dispatcher 212, request handlers 214 ₁-214 _(X), userapplication preferences 216, page generator 218, application designmanager 220, XSLT processor 222, XML parser 224, XML-notes translator226, log 228, and administrator 230. Other subsystems, modules,functions and components may also be implemented.

Servlet subsystem 210 may be a class derived from a Hyper Text TransportProtocol (“HTTP”) servlet base class that receives Get, Post and otherrequests from a device, such as a mobile device via a WirelessApplication Protocol (“WAP”) server 240, for example, for providingapplications over wireless communication networks, through HTTP 242,TCP/IP 244 or other connection. It may be written in Java or otherprogramming language. Servlet subsystem 210 may interface with requestdispatcher 212. Server subsystem 210 may use Java Native Interface(“JNI”) (or other mechanism) to pass request dispatcher 212 each requestwith user data, HTTP header information, session identifier and otherinformation. In return, request dispatcher 212 may return a responsealong with session information and other information. Request dispatcher212 may be responsible for retrieving the correct session context,invoking the correct request handler 214 ₁-214 _(X) for each request,and returning one or more responses to servlet subsystem 210. Requesthandlers 214 may process one or more requests from the device and sendresponse pages back to the device, such as WML decks or WML scriptbytecodes. For example, request handlers 214 may exist for requests,such as login, open application, and send mail. Request handlers 214 mayalso update the session state and other information. Request handlers214 may include requests related to basic operations (e.g., openapplication, read, view, open document, read item, edit document, savedocument, delete document, create document, etc.), electronic mail(e.g., compose, send, save, etc.), calendar (e.g., invite, read, add,schedule meeting, fax, etc.), search functions (e.g., address search,find address, application search, etc.), and mismobileaneous (e.g., edituser profile, save user profile, login, go to home deck, load script,move to folder, session term, etc.).

User application preferences 216 may manage user-specific settings for aparticular application. The designer of a mobile application may includeapplication specific mobile settings, such as user preferences, as partof the application design. Application specific settings may alsoinclude settings such as the default form or view to use. Page generator218 may be responsible for creating content pages, such as WML decks,which may be sent to a wireless device. It may use Extensible MarkupLanguage (“XML”)-Notes translator 226 to convert data to XML, theapplication design manager 220 to retrieve Extensible StylesheetLanguage (“XSL”) style sheets and XML Stylesheet LanguageTransformations (“XSLT”) processor 222 to produce the output page.

Application design manager 220 may be responsible for retrieving mobileapplication design information, such as XSL style sheets used forcombining document data with forms. Application design manager 220 mayalso retrieve design elements from an application (or other) database.XSLT processor 222 may transform an XML document to a different XMLdocument based on an XSL style sheet. For example, a documentrepresented in a markup language may be transformed to a representationin WML using XSLT processor 222. XML Parser 224 may provide thecapability to parse XML documents using Document Object Module (“DOM”),Simple Application Program Interface for XML (“SAX”) or other objects.XML-Notes translator 226 may be used to transform documents and viewdata from an internal format to XML documents. Log 228 may track andmaintain errors and other events. Administrator 230 may provideadministration and configuration information, which may be stored in oneor more databases, to other subsystems. Wireless-specific user settingsmay include the user's wireless homepage and locale settings, such asthe language used by the user.

FIG. 3 illustrates a diagram of various subsystems of a mobileapplication development tool, according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. A mobile application development tool may include varioussubsystems, such as user interface 310, compile manager 312, designfilter 314, script compiler 316, style sheet generator 318, outputpackager 320, log 322, XSLT processor 324, XML parser 326, and Notes—XMLtranslator 328. Other subsystems, modules, functions and components mayalso be implemented. The Mobile Application Development tool may be usedby a designer to make views/folders available to a user using a wirelessdevice.

User interface 310 may include a form which may be completed by anapplication designer (or other authorized entity) in order to identifythe design elements that may be used in a mobile application. Userinterface 310 may pass a compile document to compile manager 312 inorder to produce a compiled mobile application. Compile manager 312 mayreceive one or more compile requests from user interface 310 where oneor more other subsystems may complete the compilation process.

Design filter 314 may validate that the design elements do not containelements that are not needed or are not supported by the destinationdevice (e.g., mobile device). Elements not needed may be removed andelements that are not supported may result in compile and/or othererrors. Script compiler 316 may convert a subset of @functions andJavaScript (or other script) to WML script (or other wireless script).Other scripts such as LotusScript may also be converted to WML script.Style sheet generator 318 may use XSL style sheets to generateapplication specific XSL style sheets that may become part of a compiledmobile application and may be used by a wireless servlet at run-time.Other types of style sheets may also be generated. Output packager 320may store a compile output in a special mobile class. Compile output mayinclude an application digest, style sheets and script compilationunits. Other information may also be included in a compile output. Log322 may track and/or record errors and other events.

XSLT processor 324 may transform an XML document representing a designelement, such as a form, to an XSL style sheet based on another XSLstyle sheet. XML parser 326 may provide the capability to parse XML (orother) documents using DOM, SAX or other objects. Notes—XML Translator328 may transform design elements from an internal format to XMLdocuments or other form of documents.

Style sheets may be both input and output of a mobile applicationcompilation process. Style sheets may include view, read document, editdocument, create document, forward document, read item, read mail, editmail, create mail, read invitation, read calendar, edit calendar, createcalendar, search address, search application, user profile and others.

FIG. 4 is a diagram 400 of modules available on a mobile device accesssystem, according to an embodiment of the present invention. A modulemay be a processor of related task requests from users of mobiledevices. Various modules and functions may be available through thesystem of the present invention. Modules may include e-mail module 410,calendar module 412, forms module 414, view/folders module 416, defaultand custom actions module 418, customization module 420, search module422 and address book module 424. Other modules may also be implemented.

E-mail module 410 may access the functionality of address book module424. This may be achieved using Application Calling developed by theLotus Development Corporation. Application Calling enables a user usinga first application accessible from a wireless device to access aservice of a second application. The user may then return to the firstapplication without losing the content of the first application. Forexample, e-mail and calendar applications may use Application Callingfor name and telephone number searches via address book module 424.Thus, Application Calling may simulate process forking on a wirelessdevice.

Address book module, as shown in FIG. 4, may provide the user with alist of recipients for an e-mail or other correspondence, according toan embodiment of the present invention. The address book may displayinformation of individuals stored in a public, private, personal andother directories. Information may include a list of individuals,including full name, e-mail address, various phone numbers, addressinformation, aliases and other personal and contact information.

The present invention allows WAP browser enabled wireless devices accessto various applications. Users may access e-mail, calendar, personal,public and other directories from mobile devices, such as mobile phone,interactive pager, PDA, via a wireless service provider.

As various applications may be supported, a user may customize the typeof information, the format of the information and other characteristicsrelated to information received on a mobile device. For example, a usermay customize various rules or priority instructions for viewingreceived information on a mobile device. A user may request a rule wheree-mail (or other information and correspondences) received from aparticular person or group of persons may be sent to an identifiedmobile device. Alerts may also be programmed for a particular person orgroup of persons or other predetermined triggering events (e.g., stockactivity). The user may also limit messages (or other correspondences)sent to an identified mobile device to messages marked with high (orother level of) priority or otherwise identified as being important.Viewing options may include enabling the user to choose which features(or lines) of a message that the user would like to make viewable. Forexample, the user may want to limit incoming message views to selectfields, such as From field and subject line field, which may include upto a predetermined number of characters. Other customized rules andviewing options may be defined by the user and applied by the system ofthe present invention. Other customizations and options may beavailable.

FIG. 5 illustrates various functions and operations may be availablethrough an e-mail module, according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. E-mail module 410 may include mail menu 510, action menu 512,draft lists 514, trash lists 516, new memo 518 and search 520. Otherfunctions and operations may also be available.

Draft lists may be displayed, as shown by 516 in FIG. 5, to the user,according to an embodiment of the present invention. Draft lists may bedisplayed as a list of draft view messages where messages may bedisplayed in descending date order. Other viewing orders may also beimplemented. Drafts may include messages or other memos that have notbeen completed or sent yet.

Trash lists may be displayed, as shown by 518 in FIG. 5, to the user,according to an embodiment of the present invention. Trash list maydisplay a list of messages in a trash folder, according to a particularorder, which may include descending order by date, ascending order bydate, or other specified order. E-mails or other messages that have beendeleted may be stored in a trash folder.

New memo functionality, as shown by 520 in FIG. 5, may be available,according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 illustratesan example of a screen for composing a new memo, as displayed on amobile device, according to an embodiment of the present invention. Anew memo may include various fields. For example, a recipient field maybe identified in line 810. One or more recipients may be identified aswell as groups of recipients. An information copy of the memo may besent to an identified recipient in line 812. Line 814 may enable theuser to send one or more recipients a blind information copy of the memowhere other recipients may not see the one or more names (or otheridentifier) specified in line 814. Subject field 816 enables the user toenter text for the subject of the outgoing mail message. Body field 818may contain the text for the body of the outgoing mail message. Memooptions may include sending the message, canceling the message, savingthe message as a draft and other options. Other fields and operationsmay be implemented. According to an embodiment of the present invention,each field (e.g., 810, 812, 814, 816 and/or 818) may be a separatescreen on a mobile device.

Search functions, as shown by 522 in FIG. 5, may also be available tothe user, according to an embodiment of the present invention. Searchcriteria may include searching messages (e.g., e-mails, memos, and/orother correspondences and documents) based on various fields, such assender, date, subject and other parts of a message. Other searchcriteria may also be used. For example, a user may select the sender (orfrom) field to enter text (e.g., a character, string of characters,etc.) which may be used to match the sender (or from) field in documentsin a mail or other database. The search may use a “contains” mechanismwhich may give a positive match on any document which has a sender (orfrom) field containing the text string provided. A user may also selecta subject field to enter text which may be used to match the subjectfield in documents in a mail or other database. The search may use a“contains” mechanism which may give a positive match on any documentwhich has a subject field containing the text string provided. Inaddition, the user may select a date field to enter a date which may beused to match the delivered (or sent) date in documents in a mail orother database. The search may use a “since” mechanism which may give apositive match on any document which has a delivered (or sent) dategreater than or equal to the data provided. Other search mechanisms mayalso be implemented. Other fields may also be used to search from.Numeric strings and/or text and number combination strings may also beused as search criteria.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a mail menu as displayed on a mobiledevice, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The mailmenu screen 600 may include various viewing options which the user mayselect. Viewing options may include viewing unread mail by date 610,unread mail by author 612, inbox by date 614, inbox by author 616,drafts 618, trash 620, and all documents 622. Other viewing options mayalso include new memo 624, search all 626 and other views.

Unread mail may be displayed to the user where the user may specify acriteria for a display list, such as unread mail by date, by author, bysubject and other criteria. For example, unread mail by date 610 maydisplay a list of unread messages from an inbox folder to the user,received on a particular date or range of dates. Information associatedwith each message may be displayed to the user, such as the subject ofeach message. A user may also select to view the first predeterminednumber of words or letters of the message and/or subject for a quickview. A viewing order may be implemented to display the messages, suchas chronological, reverse chronological, alphabetical and other viewingorders. Unread mail by author 612 may display a list of messagesaccording to a specified sender (or originator). Unread mail by author612 may also display messages according to a string entered, such aspart of an identifier (e.g., name) associated with one or more senders.The string may include characters of the last name, first name, or otheridentifier of one or more senders.

Inbox by date 614 may display a list of messages to the user where allmessages from an inbox folder may be included. Information associatedwith each message may be displayed, such as subject, author, etc.Reverse chronological or other identified order may be used to displaythe messages. Inbox by author 616 may display messages by an identifiedauthor or authors with a common string of characters or other criteria.

Drafts view 618 may display a list of messages to the user where some orall messages from a drafts folder may be included. Informationassociated with each message may be displayed, such as subject, author,etc. Trash view 620 may display a list of messages from a trash folder.Information associated with each message may be displayed, such assubject, author, etc. All documents view 622 may display all currentdocuments available to the user. Various display orders may be used,such as chronological, reverse chronological, alphabetical, etc.

New memo view 624 may allow the user to create and send a new outgoingmail message. Search all view 626 allows the user to search the maildatabase for all messages which match a criteria.

Phone keys 640 may serve as short cut keys for moving to the option withthe corresponding number, thus selecting the option and invoking it.Arrow 630 indicates to the user which option may be currently invoked.The invention may determine whether, for example, a microbrowser enablesphone keys 640 to serve as short cut keys. If this feature is enabled,the invention may generate markup language deck based on thisdetermination.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of an action menu for a mail applicationas displayed on a mobile device, according to an embodiment of thepresent invention. The action menu screen 700 may include various actionoptions which the user may select. Action options may include multipleselection 710, reply 712, delete 714, fax 716, forward 718, search 720,mail menu 722. Other action options may also be implemented.

Multiple selection 710 enables the user to act on multiple selectedmessages at once. For example, the user may request that two or moremessages be deleted, moved, or otherwise acted on with a single request.Reply 712 enables the user to reply to a selected message. Various replyoptions may also be available. For example, a user may select to reply,reply with history, reply to all, and reply to all with history. Userdefined customized replies may also be available. Other reply optionsmay be available. Delete 714 enables the user to delete a selectedmessage where the deleted message may be moved to a trash folder. Inaddition, a delete message may be displayed to the user to confirm thisaction. Fax 716 may send the selected message to one or more faxmachines specified by the user. Forward 718 enables the user to forwarda selected message in a new memo. Search 720 enables the user to searchthe current view for messages which match the supplied criteria. Asearch string entered by the user is matched if the field contentscontain the entered search string. Mail menu 722 navigates the user backto the mail application menu. Other options may be available to theuser, such as access to a calendar application, address book applicationand other applications.

Phone keys 740 may serve as short cut keys for moving to the option withthe corresponding number, thus selecting the option and invoking it.Arrow 730 indicates to the user which option may be currently invoked.The invention may determine whether, for example, a microbrowser enablesphone keys 740 to serve as short cut keys. If this feature is enabled,the invention may generate markup language deck based on thisdetermination.

FIG. 9 illustrates various functions and operations that may beavailable through a calendar module, according to an embodiment of thepresent invention. A calendar module 412 may provide a menu of options.For example, view 910 may provide viewing options, such as daily view,weekly view, monthly view and other selected time frames. Also, addappointment 912 may enable a user to add one or more appointments,delete appointment 914 may enable a user to delete one or moreappointments and modify appointment 916 may enable a user to modify oneor more existing appointments. Other operations are also available. Auser may schedule one or more meetings with various participants throughschedule meeting 918. Intended participants may include individualsstored in databases, directories and/or address books. One or morecalendar entries and other various information may be forwarded/sent toone or more recipients through send 920. For example, selected calendarentries may be faxed or e-mailed to recipients. Other operations mayalso be available.

Various functions and operations may be available through a Forms module414, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The presentinvention may create forms that the end user may use to display, edit orcreate new documents on a wireless device. Also, these forms may includesubforms. When an application designer creates mobile versions ofexisting forms in a wireless access application, the alias for themobile forms may be the existing form name or the existing form aliasname. For example, an e-mail application may have a mobile form namedMobileMemo, which may be a modified version of the Memo form. The aliasfor the MobileMemo form may be “Memo.” This allows documents created ona mobile device and saved on the server to be viewed properly from theclient or a web browser. It also allows form names saved in documents tobe matched with the names of mobile forms.

An application designer may also create multiple forms with the samealias. This may be useful for allowing the end user to choose the formto use to display or edit documents. The application designer may alsodesignate that a form be used only for reading or only for editingdocuments. Other restrictions may also be applied. Default forms may bespecified as well.

Form may support varying components, such as text, field, subform,default actions (e.g., categorize, send document, forward, move tofolder, remove from folder), custom actions, images, and other actions.

Form properties used in a wireless access application form may includename, which may be used as a form name when selecting a form to displaya document on a mobile device; alias, which may be used as a form namein a document when creating a new document on a mobile device; type,which may be used when creating a response document on a mobile device;automatically enable edit mode; and default read access for documentscreated with the form, which may be used to determine whether the useris allowed to use the form on the mobile device. Other form propertiesmay also be available.

Varying fields may be supported in a form or subform, such as rich text,text, date/time, number, checkbox, radio button, listbox, authors,names, readers and other fields. Rich text fields may be treated assimple text fields when sent to a mobile device where the text may beused and any embedded objects may be ignored or otherwise suppressed.However, attachments and other objects may be addressed. For example,when an attachment appears in a rich text field, a text replacementstring may be substituted for the attachment in the text stream sent tothe mobile device. Rich text fields in a wireless access application mayalso be assigned a truncation property, where a predetermined number ofbytes of field (or number of characters) contents may be sent to themobile device.

Text fields may allow for multiple values, for example. Text fields in awireless access application may also be assigned a truncation propertyin a similar manner as Rich text fields. Text fields may also beassigned a “Mail To” property. If a form has a text field with a “MailTo” property, then whenever a document is displayed with this form a“Mail” action may be available on the mobile device. The mail action mayallow the user to create an e-mail (or other message) with the “To”field pre-filled with the value of this field. If more than one field ina form has the “Mail To” property, then the user may be presented withthe available e-mail address choices.

Text fields in a wireless access application may also be assigned a“Dial Phone” property. If a form has a text field with a “Dial Phone”property, then whenever a document is displayed with this form, a “Call”action may be available on the mobile device. The “Call” action mayallow the user to dial the phone number contained in this field. If morethan one field in a form has the “Dial Phone” property, then the mobiledevice user may be presented with the available phone number (or othercontact information) choices.

Date/Time fields format may be determined from the mobile user's localesettings. Local time zone may also be determined from the mobile user'slocale settings and the time may be displayed on the device as localtime.

Number fields may support field properties, such as number format (e.g.,decimal, percent, currency); decimal places; decimal symbol; thousandsseparator; currency symbol and other field properties.

Multiple types of forms may be used by the present invention for variousapplications. Different types of forms may include facsimile,memorandum, invitation, user profile and other applications. Forms foreach application may include predetermined form fields that are specificto each application. Forms may be created, modified and forwarded (orsent) to one or more selected recipients. Other operations may also beperformed.

For example, forms may be displayed as brief forms and full forms. Otheroptions are also available. For example a full form may display all thefields available while a brief form may display the fields selected (orcustomized) by the user.

For example, a brief memo view may display a selected portion of a memo,such as the body of the text. If the body field is longer than thescreen size, then a portion of the body field may be displayed. Otherfields may be selected by the user. A full memo view may include a fromfield, date field, send to field, copy to field, subject field, bodyfield and other fields. Actions associated with a memo may includereply, delete, fax, forward, switch view and other actions and viewingoptions.

For example, a brief invitation view may display one or more selectedfields or portions of an invitation, such as start date field, end datefield, and subject field, for example. Other fields or portions of theinvitation may be selected. A full invitation view may include chairfield, start date field, end date field, location field, subject field,comments field, body field and other fields. Actions associated with aninvitation may include accept, decline, fax, switch view, and otheractions and viewing options.

A fax form may include a name prompt; fax number, comment and otherfields. A fax menu may include send, cancel, save as draft and otheroperations. The fax may be sent to one or more recipients selected froman address book, directory or other database.

Privacy features may also be available in wireless access applicationsof the present invention. For example, a “Prevent Copying” option may beused when composing an e-mail message or other document orcorrespondence. A message (or document) designated with the “PreventCopying” option may not be forwarded or faxed. Various privacy optionsand levels of privacy may be available. For example, if a user selectsmultiple messages to forward or fax, those messages designated asprivate may be ignored (e.g., those messages may not be forwarded orfaxed). If all selected messages are designated as private, then anerror message may be displayed to the user. If a user elects to replywith history to a message designated as private, then the reply may besent without the contents of the original message. An error message mayor may not be given. If a message has a different level of privacyattached to it, then forwarding and reply with history may worknormally, but faxing may be prevented. Other levels and forms of privacymay be designated for different messages, documents and applications.

An application designer may create views and folders, throughView/Folders module 416, that the end user may use to list documents andother correspondences, for example. Each wireless access application maycontain at least one view or folder. A view may contain one or morevarious components and properties, such as name, view selection formula,default actions, columns and other actions. According to an embodimentof the present invention, application navigation may occur through viewsand folders where the user may open a selected document from a listof-views and folders.

Columns may support properties, such as column value, title, sort order,click on header to sort, multi-value separator, number formats (e.g.,general, fixed, currency, percentage, etc.), decimal places, date andtime content (e.g., date and time, date only, time only) and otherproperties. Formatting information for number column values may bedetermined from a mobile user's local settings, such as decimal symbol,thousands separator, currency symbol and other formatting information.The format for date/time column values may be determined from a mobileuser's locale settings. Locale time zone may also be determined from themobile user's locale settings and time may be displayed on the device aslocal time. Column contents may be designed so that a maximum of apredetermined number of characters may be display for any column. Ifnecessary, field values used as column content may be truncated.

An application designer may include a Using Database Document with awireless access application. This may cause an action menu item to beincluded with each view/folder that may be used to read the UsingDatabase Document. The components allowed in a Using Database Documentmay be text and bitmap images. Other components may also be available.

A wireless access application may contain default, custom and otheractions, which may be accessed through Default and Custom Actions module418. Default actions may be supported in one or more of forms, views andfolders. Custom actions may be supported in forms and subforms. Customactions may be written using a particular language, such as WML scriptor other language. For an action to be included in mobile wirelessaccess application, the display property “Include action in Action menu”or similar display property may be selected for the action.

Default actions may support various actions, such as categorize, senddocument, forward, move to folder, remove from folder and other actions.Categorize action may add one or more categories to the categories fieldof a document. Send document action may add one or more recipient namesto a send to field of a document. Forward action may add one or morerecipient names to a send to field of a memo form and add a document tothe body field. Move to folder action may add a document to a folder.Remove from folder action may remove a document from a folder.

A wireless access application may contain script in certain contexts,according to an embodiment of the present invention. Various componentsmay be available for scripting, such as form events; custom actions;field defaults, input translation and input validation; computed fields;column values and other components. A subset of @function language(“FL”) may be supported as well as Lotus Script and WML Scripts(“WMLS”). Other scripts may also be supported.

WML Script may be supported for certain events. In order to access fieldvalues, a WML browser and functions may be used. Because the WML syntaxfor variable names may differ from the syntax for field names, namemapping may be performed according to various predetermined rules.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, a wirelesspage generator may format the document, view, page (or otherinformation) into an appropriate format for the device. A wireless pagegenerator of the present invention may receive requests for and generatepages of data to be sent to and displayed on a wireless device. A pagegenerator may also encompass a XML to WML translator. For example, thedata may be in WML for display on a WAP phone or other mobile device. Inanother example, it may be data intended for an iMode, HDML or otherdevice. Other applications may be implemented.

Requests for a page of data may come from one or more request handlers.A page of information requested for display on the device may be ofseveral different types. For example, information requested for displaymay include a document from a database formatted by a form. To createthis type of page, the page generator may take the appropriate data fromthe database and transform the data based on a style sheet specific tothe type of device it is to be displayed on.

Also, information requested for display may include a list of documentsin a database, selected and formatted by a view or folder. This processmay be similar for documents and forms. A list of entries in the viewmay be obtained from a database, the details of those entries may beread, and the data may then be transformed by a style sheet into therequested (or desired) format.

The page of information requested may also encompass a fixed (orpredetermined) pre-generated page of data, such as a database containinga “Using” or “Help” document. The page of information may also includefiles to be sent to the phone (or other device), for example, a scriptfile required (or requested) by the page on the phone. These may bescripts defined in a form, but in WML they may be sent separately to thephone (or other mobile device). Another example may include an imagefile.

The page of information requested may also include a user's home page,listing mobile applications a user may be authorized to access and otherinformation. The options available on the user's home page, and theassociated URL to open may be stored in a document in an administrationor other database. This may be merged with an appropriate Home Pagestyle sheet to create a page specific to the device.

The page of information requested may also include a mobile applicationsmain menu. For example, an e-mail application may offer “read unreadmail,” “create e-mail,” etc. Another example may include error messages,such as “error opening database” or “authorization to open databasedenied.” The error message text may be generated from an appropriateresource file. This text may then be transformed by a style sheet intothe format required (or requested) by a device (e.g., WML).

A database designer (or other authorized entity) may define one or moremobile applications in a database. According to an embodiment of thepresent invention, each mobile application may create an “App Digest” ina database. An App Digest may be a design element for a database.Examples of forms may include “e-mail” or “calendar.” One function ofthe App Digest may be to hold information regarding the application anda copy of the design elements used by the mobile application in a formatrequired (or desired) by the mobile service.

Mobile design elements (e.g., document and view style sheets,pre-generated pages and scripts) may be saved in the App Digest asattached files. These mobile design elements may be intended to bederived from equivalent design elements in a database (e.g., forms,views, help, etc.). A compiler may automatically generate these itemsfrom forms and views designed by an application designer. Also, stylesheets and pages may be hand coded.

A wireless App Digest may contain various attachments with names in aformat which may include device type and device model. Files may be in astructured field format containing various design elements (e.g., stylesheets, pre-formatted pages, etc.) and associated information (forexample, each style sheets may need an associated form name, such as“memo”). If a design element is not found in the appropriate devicetype/device model file, then the page generator may look in a genericdevice type file. In this way, if there are significant differencesbetween devices of the same type, the relevant style sheet may beincluded in each of the files whereas if each model behaves the same (orsimilarly), a single style sheet may be put in a generic device typefile.

If a request handler requests a pre-generated page or a script, theappropriate page of data may be read from the App Digest and returned tothe request handler. If a request handler requests a document, a view orany other page that may be formatted by a style sheet, the pagegenerator may obtain and merge information from the sources. Thus, thevalues of the fields in the document may be read and formatted on ascreen according to the layout specified in the form. The wireless pagegenerator may format the document, view, page (or other information)into an appropriate format for the device.

FIG. 10 illustrates a process for formatting a document (or other pageof data) in an appropriate format for a device, according to anembodiment of the present invention. At step 1010, the document may bepre-processed to replace one or more elements that may not be able to bedisplayed or otherwise hindered (e.g., encrypted fields or fileattachments), which may include text indicating what has been removed(or altered). Also, data types that may not be able to be represented ona device (e.g., date/time fields) may be converted into text. Forexample, date/time fields may be replaced with text giving the date inthe user's local time zone, which may be formatted according todate/time zone preferences. In another example, fields may be truncatedthat have been marked in the design as being truncatable, to a maximummobile size. Fields that have not been marked as truncatable may betested for size based on the maximum size of WML the device may accept.Also, the size the style sheet can be without this data may also beconsidered.

At step 1012, a mobile XML description may be obtained of a documentdata or view. At step 1014, an XSL style sheet may be read from an AppDigest. At step 1016, the appropriate style sheet may be compiled (orgenerated). At step 1018, the XML document may be transformed accordingto the style sheet using an XSLT processor and return the resulting pageof data to a request handler or other authorized entity or unit.Alternatively, the process may proceed directly from step 1014 to step1018 (as indicated by the dashed line) if the stylesheet does notrequire further processing.

FIG. 11 illustrates a method for formatting a document (or other page ofdata) in an appropriate format for a mobile device according to anotherembodiment of the invention. At step 1110, a document may bepre-processed to replace one or more elements that may not be able to bedisplayed or are otherwise hindered (for example, encrypted fields orfile attachments), that may include text indicating portions that mayhave been removed are altered.

This embodiment may enable a servlet to compile a design stylesheet atrun-time for a new type of mobile device.

At step 1112, a mobile XML description may be obtained of a documentdata or view. At step 1114, an XSL stylesheet may be read from anAppdigest. At step 1116, an XSL stylesheet may be retrieved. Step 1118may then retrieve a design form or view for the XSL stylesheet. In step1120, an XML description for the design may be obtained. After obtainingthe XML description, step 1122 may then compile a stylesheet based onthe XSL stylesheet retrieved in step 1116 and the design form or viewretrieved in step 1118. Step 1124 may then transform the XML document tothe stylesheet using an XSLT processor and return the resulting page ofdata to a request handler or other authorized entity or unit.

For further improvement, the design elements of an application may becached by the page generator, since these items may not changefrequently. In the case of style sheets, the compiled style sheet may becached. In addition to the design elements required (or desired) for aparticular application, there may also be a number of common designelements required (or desired) by the mobile service. These may bestored in a mobile application form in an administrative (or other)database. Design elements included in this application may include astyle sheet to build an error message to send to a device and a stylesheet to build a home page. Other design elements may also be designatedas such.

Multiple mobile device types may be supported through the presentinvention. According to an embodiment of the present invention, ageneric output may be provided where the specifics related to thereceiving mobile device may be irrelevant. For example, regardless ofthe model, type or series number of the mobile device being used,information sent to the mobile device may be viewed properly. Furtherthe information may be customizable by the user.

Mobile device users may customize various aspects of views andapplications, through Customization module 420. Examples of customizableoptions may include home page (e.g., personal, any URL), time zone, dateformat, font format, language and other options. This feature of theinvention provides for international applications. For example, a usermay receive a message in French from a client in France or otherlocation. The text message in French may be accepted by a mobile deviceand displayed in French or English (or other selected language). Thedata transmitted may be formatted to display an identified time zone,date format and other features and characteristics for customizedviewing options.

A server form in a directory of the present invention may contain asubform that allows server level configuration information to beadministered. The subform may contain various tabs, such as Basics tab,Wireless Access tab and Wireless Security tab. Basics tab may containserver settings which may be common to various applications andproducts. The Wireless Access tab and the Wireless Security tab maycontain server settings specific to a wireless product.

Server locale information may be used when sending date, time andcurrency information to a wireless device. However, the time zoneinformation, the date format and other information may be over-ridden bya user via the wireless user settings in an appropriate form, e.g.,Person form.

The Person form in a directory may contain a subform that allowswireless user settings to be administered. Wireless user settings may beoptional. For example, wireless user settings related to time may beadministered by a user from a wireless device.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, a wirelessservlet may use an attachment to a user's Person document to define andsave application specific preferences, such as mobile form preferences,search key values and other preferences. This attachment may be similarto a web “cookie” and may contain information that may not be directlyadministered at the server. For example, a user may submit a search orseries of searches in an application (e.g., e-mail or calendar). Theuser may enter search criteria, which may include search terms, stringsof characters and other information in a search form. This searchcriteria may be saved in a file, as an attachment, for example. Also,the search criteria may be stored on a client side device, such as themobile device. When a subsequent search is conducted, the previoussearches may be accessed and/or retrieved. This feature of the presentinvention may facilitate searching techniques by the user.

A wireless user home page form may be used to configure an initial menufor a user when accessing a wireless servlet. A default home pagedocument may also be available. Each user home page entry may includevarious types. For example, a wireless request may be sent to a currentwireless server, a URL to any web page, or a submenu for more home pageentries. Other options may be available. If a user's home page has asingle request or URL menu item, then that item may be executed.

An application designer may design an application user profile form. Theapplication user profile form may enable the user to choose the form tobe used when viewing or editing documents (or other information) on amobile device. Also, application user profile form may enable the userto choose a default view to be used when viewing documents (or otherinformation) on the mobile device. Application user profile form mayalso enable the user to manage and choose words or phrases for fields ina form.

The user may select the form to be used on a mobile device when readingor editing documents. The user may select a mobile form for eachapplication form that is used. For example, if an application has aSales form, the application designer may create two mobile versions ofthis form called MobileSales and BriefSales, both with alias Sales. Theuser may choose either MobileSales or BriefSales as the form to use forreading Sales documents on the mobile device. If the application hasanother form, then the application designer may create multiple mobileversions of that form and the user may also choose which to use forreading or editing documents of that type. Other options and variationsmay also be implemented.

The user may select a default view to be used on the mobile device whenreading documents and performing other operations.

If the application designer adds text fields to the user profile formwith the same (or similar) field names as fields in the wireless accessapplication form, then the user may add a list of names, words orphrases which may then be selected on the mobile device as values forcorresponding fields. This may be similar to a keyword field type in aform. Further, the user may modify the list. For example, for an e-mailapplication, the user profile form may contain a text field with thename Subject. The user may then add phrases such as “Sales Status”,“Just saying hello,” “Can we meet?” to this field and those phrases maybecome choices for the content of the Subject field in a Memo (or other)form when sending an e-mail (or other document) from a mobile device.

An application designer may design an application search form. If anapplication has a search form, then users may have the option to search(as well as open and perform other operations to) the application fromtheir home page or other environment. If a user chooses to search anapplication, then the search form may be opened for editing on a mobiledevice where the user may submit various search settings. The searchform may be a profile form and each user may have a profile documentcontaining the last or previous search settings used, as well as otherinformation.

A search form may contain a formula field where the field may contain aselect formula that may be evaluated on the server for the searchoperation. This formula typically may reference other fields on thesearch form. For example, a designer may add a From field on an e-mailapplication search form so that the user may search for e-mail from aparticular person or group. Also, a search form may optionally contain afield that may contain a view or folder name which may be used tofurther constrain the search to documents in a specified view or folder.Other specifications may be defined and other criteria may be applied.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, text-to-speechcapability may be provided. Thus, any information in the form of textreceived by a mobile device may be converted to speech.

The features of the present invention may be applied to a financialservices example. However, it may be understood that the presentinvention may be applied to various applications. This following exampleof financial services is presented as a mere example of the presentinvention. A financial planner (or user) or other entity doing businessin the financial field may have various stocks to manage. The financialplanner of this example may have set buy and sell thresholds for eachstock. Timing is critical and a delayed buy or sell may mean adifference of hundreds of thousands to various clients. However, thefinancial planner may not be able to constantly monitor the market.Through the present invention, any time the price reaches an upper orlower threshold, the present invention may notify mobile services andusing a short messaging or other services a short message may be sent tothe financial planner where a mobile device (e.g., pager, mobile phone)may alert the financial planner. However, the financial planner may bein a situation where immediate action may not be possible. For example,the financial planner may be in a meeting, in an airplane or otherwiseunable to react to the message. Through the present invention, thefinancial planner may have programmed the mobile device (e.g., pager) sothat with a single press of a button, the financial planner may direct amessage to a broker (or other entity). If the financial planner isnotified that one of the stocks has reached the critical point, thefinancial planner may simply pick a reply (e.g., sell, buy, hold) andforward the message to the broker (or other selected recipient) withouthaving to leave a meeting or make a call.

The method and system of the present invention may be implementedthrough various communication environments, such as a WirelessApplication Protocol, Bluetooth protocol, Global System Mobile protocol,Wireless Markup Language protocol and other wireless communicationprotocols. Bluetooth wireless communications technology provides theability to exchange data and voice between communication devices.Bluetooth may include a radio-based standard for small personal devicesto automatically connect and exchange information for personal wirelessapplications. Bluetooth may further include a short-range networkingprotocol for connecting different types of devices, such as mobilephone, desktop or notebook computers. Bluetooth may enable access to theInternet via a phone's mobile data system and linking the user's voiceto a computer. Devices that are Bluetooth enabled may communicate bywireless signals within a defined range where a line-of-sight connectionis not needed. For example, Bluetooth technology may transfer an e-mailfrom a user's mobile phone to a personal computer for easier reading andreply.

Bluetooth may enable the creation and use of a Wireless Personal AreaNetwork (“WPANs”) where a WPAN may connect devices to establish datacommunications channels for applications. The WPAN may form a networkfor a single individual and that person's interactions with personaldigital devices. Bluetooth may be a packet-based communications mediumand may accommodate both data and voice transmissions.

The foregoing description of a system and method for providing wirelessdevice access is illustrative, and changes in the above construction andsequences of operation may occur to persons skilled in the art. Forexample, although multiple modules are shown for carrying out theinvention, additional or fewer modules may be used and multiple modulesmay be positioned in various locations. Additionally, although theinvention is intended to be practiced with Lotus® Notes® applications,the invention may be practiced with various applications because theinvention uses XML to represent data and design. It should be noted,however, that the invention is not limited to XML and may be practicedusing another language. Other embodiments, uses and advantages of thepresent invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art fromconsideration of the specification and practice of the inventiondisclosed herein. The specification and examples should be consideredexemplary only. The scope of the invention is accordingly intended to belimited only by the following claims.

1. A method of accessing a first application and a second applicationvia a wireless client device, the method comprising: receiving, via awireless medium, a first application option selected on the wirelessclient device; executing a first application action with the firstapplication that corresponds to the first application option, wherein afirst application content is generated by the first application inexecuting the first application action; transmitting the firstapplication content to the wireless client device via the wirelessmedium; receiving, via the wireless medium, a second application optionselected on the wireless client device subsequent to the execution ofthe first application action; executing a second application action withthe second application that corresponds to the second applicationoption, wherein a second application content is generated by the secondapplication in executing the second application action, transmitting thesecond application content to the wireless client device via thewireless medium; receiving, via the wireless medium, a return optionselected on the wireless client device; and enabling a user to togglebetween the first application and the second application without losingcontent in response to receiving the return option.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the first application is an email application.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the first application is at least one of anaddress book application and a calendar application.
 4. The method ofclaim 2, wherein the second application is at least one of an addressbook application and a calendar application.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein the first application option is at least one of a view option, asort option, a compose option, a fax option, a forward option, a replyoption, a private option, multiple view option, and a confirmationoption.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the second application optionis at least one of a search option and a scheduling option.
 7. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising presenting at least one of thefirst application content and the second application content on thewireless client device according to at least one presentation option. 8.The method of claim 7, wherein the at least one presentation optioncomprises at least one of a quick view format, a user selected date, auser selected subject, and a user selected author.
 9. The method ofclaim 1, wherein at least one of the first application content and thesecond application content comprises at least one of email data, memodata, address data, and search data.
 10. A system for accessing a firstapplication and a second application via a wireless client device, thesystem comprising: a reception module capable of receiving, via awireless medium, application options selected on the wireless clientdevice; a transmission module capable of transmitting, via the wirelessmedium, application content to the wireless client device; and a serverin communication with the reception module and the transmission modulethat comprises a first application module and a second applicationmodule, wherein the first application module executes a firstapplication action with the first application that corresponds to afirst application option received by the reception module from thewireless client device and generates a first application content that istransmitted to the wireless client device by the transmission module,and the second application module executes a second application actionwith the second application that corresponds to a second applicationoption received by the reception module from the wireless client devicesubsequent to the reception of the first application option andgenerates a second application content that is transmitted to thewireless client device by the transmission module, and wherein, inresponse to a return option received from the wireless client device bythe reception module subsequent to the reception of the secondapplication option, a user is enabled to toggle between the firstapplication and the second application without losing content.
 11. Thesystem of claim 10, wherein the first application is an emailapplication.
 12. The system of claim 10, wherein the first applicationis at least one of an address book application and a calendarapplication.
 13. The system of claim 11, wherein the second applicationis at least one of an address book application and a calendarapplication.
 14. The system of claim 10, wherein the first applicationoption is at least one of a view option, a sort option, a composeoption, a fax option, a forward option, a reply option, a privateoption, multiple view option, and a confirmation option.
 15. The systemof claim 14, wherein the second application option is at least one of asearch option and a scheduling option.
 16. The system of claim 10,wherein at least one of the first application content and the secondapplication content are formatted for presentation on the wirelessclient device according to at least one presentation option.
 17. Thesystem of claim 16, wherein the at least one presentation optioncomprises at least one of a quick view format, a user selected date, auser selected subject, and a user selected author.
 18. The system ofclaim 10, wherein at least one of the first application content and thesecond application content comprises at least one of email data, memodata, address data, and search data.
 19. A system for accessing a firstapplication and a second application via a wireless client device, thesystem comprising: reception means for receiving, via a wireless medium,application options selected on the wireless client device; transmissionmeans for transmitting, via the wireless medium, application content tothe wireless client device; and server means for executing applicationactions in communication with the reception means and the transmissionmeans, the server means comprising a first application module and asecond application module, wherein the first application module executesa first application action with the first application that correspondsto a first application option received by the reception means from thewireless client device and generates a first application content that istransmitted to the wireless client device by the transmission means, andthe second application module executes a second application action withthe second application that corresponds to a second application optionreceived by the reception means from the wireless client devicesubsequent to the reception of the first application option andgenerates a second application content that is transmitted to thewireless client device by the transmission means, and wherein, inresponse to a return option received from the wireless client device bythe reception means subsequent to the reception of the secondapplication option, a user is enabled to toggle between the firstapplication and the second application without losing content.
 20. Thesystem of claim 19, wherein the first application is an emailapplication.
 21. The system of claim 19, wherein the first applicationis at least one of an address book application and a calendarapplication.
 22. The system of claim 20, wherein the second applicationis at least one of an address book application and a calendarapplication.
 23. The system of claim 19, wherein the first applicationoption is at least one of a view option, a sort option, a composeoption, a fax option, a forward option, a reply option, a privateoption, multiple view option, and a confirmation option.
 24. The systemof claim 23, wherein the second application option is at least one of asearch option and a scheduling option.
 25. The system of claim 19,wherein at least one of the first application content and the secondapplication content are formatted for presentation on the wirelessclient device according to at least one presentation option.
 26. Thesystem of claim 25, wherein the at least one presentation optioncomprises at least one of a quick view format, a user selected date, auser selected subject, and a user selected author.
 27. The system ofclaim 19, wherein at least one of the first application content and thesecond application content comprises at least one of email data, memodata, address data, and search data.
 28. A storage medium for storingmachine readable code, the machine readable code being executable toaccess a first application and a second application via a wirelessclient device according to the steps of: receiving, via a wirelessmedium, a first application option selected on the wireless clientdevice; executing a first application action with the first applicationthat corresponds to the first application option, wherein a firstapplication content is generated by the first application in executingthe first application action; transmitting the first application contentto the wireless client device via the wireless medium; receiving, viathe wireless medium, a second application option selected on thewireless client device subsequent to the execution of the firstapplication action; executing a second application action with thesecond application that corresponds to the second application option,wherein a second application content is generated by the secondapplication in executing the second application action, transmitting thesecond application content to the wireless client device via thewireless medium; receiving, via the wireless medium, a return optionselected on the wireless client device; and enabling a user to togglebetween the first application and the second application without losingcontent in response to receiving the return option.
 29. The storagemedium of claim 28, wherein the first application is an emailapplication.
 30. The storage medium of claim 28, wherein the firstapplication is at least one of an address book application and acalendar application.
 31. The storage medium of claim 29, wherein thesecond application is at least one of an address book application and acalendar application.
 32. The storage medium of claim 28, wherein thefirst application option is at least one of a view option, a sortoption, a compose option, a fax option, a forward option, a replyoption, a private option, multiple view option, and a confirmationoption.
 33. The storage medium of claim 32, wherein the secondapplication option is at least one of a search option and a schedulingoption.
 34. The storage medium of claim 28, wherein the machine readablecode is further executable to format at least one of the firstapplication content and the second application content for presentationon the wireless client device according to at least one presentationoption.
 35. The storage medium of claim 34, wherein the at least onepresentation option comprises at least one of a quick view format, auser selected date, a user selected subject, and a user selected author.36. The storage medium of claim 35, wherein at least one of the firstapplication content and the second application content comprises atleast one of email data, memo data, address data, and search data.